A solar cell module constituting a single unit in a solar power generating system is typically manufactured by arranging, in order, a light-receiving-side sealing member, a photoelectric converter, a non-light-receiving-side sealing member, and a protective sheet in stacked fashion above a glass substrate, and applying heat and pressure thereto. At this time, resin, for example, is employed at the light-receiving-side sealing member and the non-light-receiving-side sealing member, and a plurality of solar cell elements which are electrically connected by inner leads or other such conductive leads are employed at the photoelectric converter.
Because each and every one of the many solar cell elements are connected by means of inner leads in such solar cell module manufacturing methods, operations become complicated, and further improvements in manufacturing efficiency are required.
To solve this problem, International Patent Application Japanese Translation Publication No. 2009-527917 and Japanese Patent Application Publication Kokai No. 2002-319691 propose simplification of manufacturing operations by causing solar cell elements to be mutually connected by means of a film-type circuit in which conductive leads are arranged on film.
However, in the manufacturing method described at International Patent Application Japanese Translation Publication No. 2009-527917, wave soldering is employed to solder the solar cell elements and film-type circuit, and thus obtain the device structure. Said device structure, glass substrate, sealing member, and protective sheet are then formed into an integral structure to manufacture the solar cell module. Because wave soldering is a method in which soldering takes place by means of solder jetted from the interior of a solder bath, it is necessary during the aforementioned manufacturing method to heat the solar cell element and the film-type circuit to a temperature sufficient to cause these to be wetted by solder. Thermal history is also significant, since the solder jet heats the solar cell element over a large area thereof. Because heating takes place over a large area, there is a tendency for warping of the device structure to occur during cooling following soldering, and there has been a possibility that cracking of the solar cell element may occur when this is stretched and made flat at the time that this is made into an integral structure together with the glass substrate and so forth.
Furthermore, in the manufacturing method described at Japanese Patent Application Publication Kokai No. 2002-319691, the sealing member is integral with the film-type circuit, a plurality of solar cell elements being electrically connected without causing the sealing member to undergo melting or crosslinking. This being the case, reliability of the electrical connection has been poor, and the manufacturing operations, which include an operation in which the film-type circuit is folded back upon itself and so forth, have been extremely complicated.